


Nothing Unsightly

by Sasugaafee



Series: Playing with prompts [8]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: EnstarsNL, F/M, Fluff and Humor, In all honesty I just want to try writing a flustered shu, ShuAnzu, recently-hit-by-puberty shu itsuki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 05:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16989285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sasugaafee/pseuds/Sasugaafee
Summary: He never experienced this foreign feelings before, something like having butterflies in your stomach, the thought of it alone had always brought him to disgust. Fidgeting in a presence of someone or getting flustered by slight touch, he wouldn't have imagined himself doing something so unsightly.“Does the image of her in sweats get you all hot and bothered, recently-hit-by-puberty guy?”“Not really, but you sure make me annoyed and bothered. Boorish imbecile.”From the prompt "realizing one's feelings"





	Nothing Unsightly

**Author's Note:**

> English isn't my native language, sorry!

_It's weird._

He never experienced this foreign feelings before, something like having butterflies in your stomach, the thought of it alone had already brought him to disgust usually. It wasn’t the same as the past with his first love, either. Fidgeting in a presence of someone or getting flustered by slight touch, he wouldn't have imagined himself doing something so unsightly.

Yet, here he was, with his mind went completely blank whenever she was around. That girl whom he called an 'ill-bred little girl' not too long ago.

His ideas couldn't get together, more like an uneven mess, and his fingers didn't move the way he wanted them to. As a genius, he couldn't accept it.

_When did it start?_

Was it that time—when he accidentally hugged her to prevent her from falling in the staircase three days ago? Was it because he realized a girl's scent could be surprisingly pleasant when he caught her in his arms? Or was that because he unintentionally felt something _peculiar_ when she bumped onto his chest, which made him conscious that she was indeed a girl close to his age?

Either way only made him sound like a vulgar virgin, it irritated him even more.

"Itsuki-senpai, I've put the cloth over there. Can I talk with Mado-nee now?"

When he was currently fussing over these strange emotions, she just went asking him something so nonchalantly. How vexing.

"No," _talk to me instead_ , some absurd words he couldn’t believe stuck in the back of his throat. "Rather, I should ask you to leave now. The door is over there."

"Eh, but—"

"Get out."

He felt kinda bad telling her off without giving any proper reason, but there's no way he could stand being with her in this state. If he could try to avoid her for some time maybe he could return to normal. Probably.

Alright, he'd do that.

 

* * *

 

He was naive. It didn't work.

It became worse, even.

Spending a week being restless was certainly not a result he'd been expecting. His plan failed miserably.

He detested having to ask for help from someone but he gave up trying to solve this by himself. He had his pride but it would be futile since he had no knowledge about this matter after all. Fiddling with cup phone in his hands, he hesitated for a while.

_It would be fine_ , he was just gonna ask for a little hint anyway. It wouldn't hurt.

"Hello, Rei?" Shu started, choosing to rely on his fellow oddball whom he believed to be wise enough to help him. "Listen, I have something to ask you... it's about the little girl. You know her, right? I guess I'm sort of... losing my composure around her, I don't know why, my hands got all sweaty that I couldn't hold the needle properly. It's distracting and in the way of my genius creations. I know, talking about this doesn't feel good to me as well but avoiding her was useless and I'm really at lost now. My bad, Rei, you're one of the few people I can talk about my problem with so I'd appreciate if you can help me getting rid of this tricky mess. What do you say? Hm, why are you not saying anything?"

He started to have a bad feeling when there was no response at all from his side, instead he heard footsteps nearing him. At the time he saw his red-haired childhood friend entering his class, chills ran down his spine, Itsuki Shu knew he just screwed up for the second time.

"Ahem, Itsuki.”

_God, just kill him already._

“Look, I know this isn’t the first time. I feel bad, man. I really do.… The cup was on the floor again and I was picking it up. I didn't mean to listen, but you mentioned the little miss, it kinda piqued my curiosity and you weren’t stop talking so, yeah. Anyway, sorry I ain't have any suggestion for you but regarding the little miss, you have my full support. You're a good person despite that irritating attitude after all.”

Kuro patted Shu’s shoulder, a thin but proud smile on his face, “I’m glad you finally moved on from my mother.”

_Goodness gracious._

"Well... that's about it. You should probably wait for the other person to speak first before start talking next time. Wish you the best of luck, Itsuki. "

As Kuro went back to his class, Shu still froze in his place. The cup phone had long since dropped to the ground.

It would be very convenient if a hole could appear out of nowhere in front of him right now.

“Hm, wasn’t he from class B? What was he doing here?” Kaoru asked to no one in particular. “By the way, we’re planning to go to karaoke after school. Do you have anything else to do?”

“Yeah, I have to drown myself.”

“Sorry, what?”

 

* * *

 

It was getting more and more irritating. What Kuro said earlier still bugged him (moreover, embarrassed him) and his noisy class wasn’t helping. No way, there was no way _that_ would be the case. He had scolded three of his classmates for the past 15 minutes because of the most trivial things but his annoyance wouldn’t cease.

Izumi who noticed Shu’s foul mood got annoyed as well, he approached him.

“You’ve been doing nothing aside of grumbling in your seat and scolding people for nothing, you know? That’s soooooo annoying. What’s your problem? Are you having your period or something?”

“Like you’re the one to talk, Senacchi.”

“Excuse me, can’t you see I’m having a conversation with someone here?”

[“ _Shu-kun, isn’t in a good state right now. His mind is a mess so it’s best if you leave him alone now_ ,”] the doll in his hand spoke.

“You don’t have to talk to such vulgar folks, Mademoiselle.” Shu placed the antique doll far from them, in which Kaoru got slightly offended, then showed a look of distaste. “That’s none of your business, uncivilized scoundrels. Although you're beautiful, I don't feel good seeing you right now so stay away from my sight.”

“What—“

“Wow, you’re in an awfully bad mood, Itsuki!” Chiaki who heard the ruckus ran towards them. “That’s not good to be so sensitive over small things, you know? Let’s all forgive each other and get along! We’re classmates after all!”

“I refuse to get along with people from your class of society, commoners. You’re all below me in the hierarchy, you should prostrate yourselves before the world treasure, that is myself, and be grateful for the honor.”

“He’s beyond help,” Kaoru twitched his eyes at his lack of hospitality. No filter, he didn't hold back at all.

“Alright, we’ll leave you alone,” The former model said, turning around. “Just don’t vent your frustration on us for whatever it is filling your mind until you get stressed out like that. It’s pissing me off.”

“My mind isn’t filled with that little girl, how insulting!”

They blinked.

Izumi turned back at Shu, squinting at him suspiciously. “…I never said anything about Anzu, you know?”

_Ah._

“That is—“

It wasn’t long until they understood what actually had been bugging the leader of Valkyrie. They all raised a brow knowingly, whistling as to tease. “I see, so that’s how it is~” Shu had this urge to slap the guy in front of him with his shoe, good thing he wasn’t a barbarian.

“Wait, if you’re going to make a move on—“

Chiaki slapped Kaoru’s mouth for not being able to read the situation that this story isn't his place to shine. “GUYS, LISTEN! ITSUKI IS FINALLY EXPERIENCING HIS PUBERTY!!!”

Shu froze in his place as the others started approaching him.

“Is that true?”

“Wow, congratulations, Itsuki-kun.”

“That’s surprising to hear but I’m glad for you, Itsuki-san! Mama’s proud of you!”

Itsuki Shu, a prodigy and the former sovereign, at that moment just wanted to cry due to the humiliation.

“Come to think of it, Yuu-kun’s class is having P.E today.” Izumi looked outside the window then smirked smugly at him, “Does the image of her in sweats get you all hot and bothered, recently-hit-by-puberty guy?”

“Not really, but you sure make me annoyed and bothered. Boorish imbecile.”

 

* * *

 

“I heard you didn’t let Anzu-chan talk with Mado-nee last week, Oshi-san. Did you get in some kind of fight with her? She said you’re avoidin’ her, yanno?”

Shu’s brow twitched. Of all things they could choose to talk about in the handicrafts clubroom, his own doll chose to talk about _her_. He was only hoping for some peace of mind here and apparently that was too much for him to ask.

“Why are you asking about it, Kagehira?”

“Well,” Mika scratched the back of his head. “She’s been worryin' about it because she thought she had done somethin’ that made you angry. Anzu-chan wanted to apologize but it seems like you’ve been ignorin’ her, oshi-san. Did somethin’ happen?”

Oh no, now he felt terrible.

[“ _Tell her she didn’t do anything bad, Mika-chan_ ,”] Mademoiselle said. [“ _Shu-kun’s just having a predicament right now so he’d like to avoid her for a while until he can finally sort out those bizarre feelings of his_.”]

Mika blinked a few times.

“You’re havin’ problem with… your feelings?”

[“ _Shu-kun couldn’t focus with his work if she’s around. He keeps fidgeting and his heart is very noisy so it’s distracting him fufufu~_ ”]

Mika blinked again.

Shu clicked his tongue.

“Mademoiselle, that's enough.”

The younger guy wasn’t an expert either in this matter, but he listened enough to Arashi to guess what kind of problem his master was having. It was the only possibility for those symptoms after all. “Oshi-san…” he called to him carefully.

“Hm?”

“Do you actually... yanno, feel somethin' about  Anzu-chan?”

It seemed like he got that kind of question a lot lately.

 

* * *

 

“That’s why I’m telling you to never leave your cup phone unattended anymore! It brought me to such disgrace. I never have any intention to live a long life in the first place, but I was really thinking about jumping off the window right at that very moment if it wasn't so inelegant.”

Rei chuckled, “Sorry about that.”

“Pretty convincing.”

“There, there, don’t be so angry,” The older Sakuma rested his head on his hand. “Besides, I don’t think jumping off from the window would be enough to kill you, Itsuki-kun. Remembering you jumped from the 2nd floor once.”

The Five Oddballs had gathered at a café near the station because Shu suddenly called them for a talk. It was a super super ultra rare occasion, so the others were eager to listen to what the perfectionist puppeteer had to say, which turned out to be love issue of a late bloomer he had yet to admit.

“That’s why I told you to stop using those old-fashioned cup phonES!” Natsume said as he stirred his tea. “Get a smartphone already so we can make an oddballs group chAT.”

“Yeah, try to use the stickers too! They’re fun!” Wataru added.

“I might consider…” Natsume’s eyes lit up. “In probably ten years.” Natsume grunted.

“Aw, come oooON!”

“Anyway,” Rei got their attention back to the main topic. “About your problem with Young Miss… I think it’s something you have to overcome by yourself. One advice, you can’t run away. How about try spending time with the person in question? You might discover something kukuku. Or have you actually figured it out already, Itsuki-kun?”

“Non!“ Shu slammed his hands on the table unconsciously. "It's absurd!"

“You’re just being in denial, aren’t you?”

“Denial isn’t just a “river” in Egypt after all, puka puka~”

“Stop—“

“It’s obvious already, dUH.” The youngest of the Five Oddballs rolled his eyes at his flustered upperclassman. He raised a brow, “What’s it that is actually holding you baCK, Shu-niisan?”

The man scowled. It was frustrating to admit, but they all hit the bullseye. It took him everything he had to deny it. This kind of feeling was unnecessary, he thought. He loved perfection, he loved beautiful things, he loved Mademoiselle. That all was enough for him. He wouldn’t ask for anything more. For mere emotion to shake him this much, it's aggravating.

“That kind of thing is hideous and utterly ridiculous, I refuse to accept.”

Rei smiled.

“Being in love isn’t ugly at all, Itsuki-kun. Whether it’s God’s plan or just a trick of the Devil’s temptation, _Eros_ or _Agape_ , love is still something magnificent to experience especially in your blooming youth.”

Shu widened his eyes at him.

“Rei..."

“Yes?”

“You do have the tendency to say embarrassing things in order to desperately sound wise, don’t you? That's quite remarkable.”

“You're paying for our orders.”

 

* * *

 

Shu had been thinking about it for days, finally getting the determination to settle things instead of denying or to phrase it simply, he would confess. Things like relationship or affectionate actions sounded far away for him, heck, he had always been terrible at human interaction in general. At least this would help easing his mind, he couldn’t afford being in this mess forever.

His heart wouldn’t shut up, though.

_When did this feeling start to develop?_ He wondered.

Was it because she began to visit him frequently to talk with Mademoiselle? Was that because he actually acknowledged her as a reliable producer and silently admired her for her sincere efforts? Or was it even way long before that—when she ignored all of his rude remarks and kept approaching him anyway?

Either way, now that he was already conscious about his feelings which had already piled up, it would be impossible to feign ignorance.

“Excuse me,” a feminine voice came from the door. “Can I come in?”

She sounded hesitating, probably because he’d been avoiding her for the past days. Mademoiselle greeted her, [“ _Please come in. Long time no talk, Anzu-chan~_ ”]

“Mado-nee! Ah, but—“ Anzu glanced at him.

Shu nodded, “That’s alright. You can talk to her, be grateful.”

At this she beamed and he felt glad. He liked her smile too. Seemed like when you finally realized that you like someone, everything about the person became favorable. Love is such an uncanny emotion that it was difficult to understand, but as Rei said, it’s still beautiful.

And beautiful things have to be conveyed.

“Hey, little girl—no, Anzu.”

She turned at him almost immediately, it was probably the first time he actually used her name.

“If I were..." he began. "... to harbor something like love, even if it turned out to be unsightly later, would you not mind?”

He could see her light blue eyes widened, looking puzzled. Her face reddened, of course, his too.

After some time, the girl smiled at him.

“I think I wouldn’t mind at all.”

Just those words and it was as if his worries all this time had been washed away. He stood up, slowly making his way towards her. He was about to lift his hands before letting it fall at his sides again, she noticed it, the same as that amusing shade of red on his face.

Someone should show him a proper way to show affection, she thought, so she hugged him first. He took quite a long time to get over his hesitation and hugged her back.

“Then, I will be in your care from now on. Be proud that you're the one I've chosen.”

It might be awkward, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if it's kinda ooc somehow! I have to add some parts for the sake of humor sweats
> 
> I had so much fun writing this so I hope you guys did too  
> Thank you for reading!


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